UP IN FLAMES

Vanessa Spencer angrily slammed the front door of her apartment shut, threw her handbag onto a nearby chair and headed into her bedroom. Her fingers tightened around her phone which was held up to her ear, "I'm tired of waiting, Christopher!" she yelled, "It's been four fucking weeks already. When are you going to sign those damn papers?"

She heard Christopher laugh softly, and got even angrier. Sometimes, she wondered how she'd managed to stay married to him all those years. He was the most infuriating man she'd ever met in her life.

Vanessa had married Christopher at the young age of twenty one, and now at the age of twenty eight, she often wondered what the hell she'd been thinking when she had made such a horrible decision. She'd been young and stupid and she'd honestly thought that she loved him… Or the man she thought he was, but six months after their wedding she'd painfully realized that Christopher wasn't the man she thought he was. He was a liar and a cheat, and Vanessa blamed herself for putting her emotions before common sense. It was a mistake she'd never make again.

A year ago, she'd finally given up and walked away from Christopher. She moved out of their matrimonial home and rented an apartment. Their separation had done her a lot of good. She was starting to feel like herself again, and had even gone back to her job as a writer, but now she wanted to be free of Christopher once and for all. She'd gotten a divorce lawyer and sent Christopher the divorce papers, but Christopher was taking his sweet time signing them. It was almost as if he was trying to punish her… Trying to make things unnecessarily hard for her, and it was very obvious that he was enjoying the stress he was putting her through.

She slammed her bedroom door shut and paced the room in an agitated manner. "Stop laughing. I'm not in the mood Christopher," She heard him chuckle again.

"I've been meaning to sign them, Vanessa," he said, in that voice of his that she'd grown to hate so damn much. "It just slipped my mind,"

"Slipped your mind?" Vanessa repeated, "It's been four damn weeks!"

"And I've been busy," he interrupted, "Look, baby. Why don't you come over this evening and we can have dinner together. I still believe that we can fix our marriage. Divorce won't do anything for us,"

"I don't want to be married to you anymore, Christopher, and having dinner will do nothing to change that. We have been separated for a year already and I think it's time to put an end to this whole thing. Sign those papers, or you will not like my next move. You have no idea how far I'm willing to go to get this done as soon as possible. Goodbye!"

"What exactly are you going to do Vanessa? Force me? Kill me?" he chuckled, "Oh, I'm so scared" he added sarcastically.

"Just sign the papers Christopher," Vanessa sighed and ended the call before Christopher had a chance to reply. She was tired. Why did everything have to be so hard with him? She knew why; he was a misogynistic, narcissistic, brute who always wanted everything to go his way. Marrying him was the biggest mistake she'd ever made and the earlier she got rid of him, the better for her.

Unable to think straight, she decided to take a nap and when she finally woke up four hours later, she felt a bit more relaxed. She found her way to the kitchen and began to make herself dinner. She'd eat, have some wine and do some writing before retiring for the day. She was cutting up some vegetables when the doorbell rang. She sighed, wondering who the hell it was as she wasn't expecting any visitors. She wiped her hands on a towel, then went to answer the door.

Two policemen stood outside, and by the looks on their faces, Vanessa could tell that something horrible had happened. She tried to stay calm as she opened the door wider, "Good evening, officers," she greeted, "Can I help you?"

"I'm Detective Alaric, and this Detective Paul," one of them as they both held up their ID cards for her to see, "We'd like you to come with us to the station immediately,"

Vanessa's heart began to beat faster, "I don't understand," she said, "What for?"

"Mrs Spencer, you're wanted as a prime suspect in the murder of your husband, Mr Christopher Wesley. You need to come with us to the station for questioning. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you do or say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you. I suggest you don't try to resist. Do you understand the rights I have just read to you?"

Vanessa's jaw dropped. Christopher was dead! It was impossible to believe. She'd just spoken to him that afternoon. It had to be a mistake.

She nodded, "I…. I…. I need to call my lawyer," she said, when she finally found her tongue,"

"Ma'am, you can do that at the station. Turn around, please,"

Vanessa did as she was told, and she flinched when she felt the cold metal of the handcuff around her wrist. She was dreaming, she told herself over and over again. This couldn't be happening. She had never been arrested before, and she couldn't believe that it was happening now, over something as gruesome as murder… Of her own husband.

Slowly, she followed the officers to the car, and resisted the urge to do something crazy like resist or try to run. That wouldn't do her any good. In fact, it would only give them more reasons to believe that she'd killed Christopher, and she didn't want that. She'd just wait till she could call her lawyer, and then he'd fix this. He had to.

She'd have to find a way to prove that she was innocent, but how the hell was she going to do that? When she remembered the conversation she'd had with Christopher that evening, her blood ran cold. It would be harder now to prove to the police that she'd not murdered her husband, but she had to. No way was she going to go to jail for a crime she didn't commit.

She was innocent, but the question right now was, who the hell had murdered Christopher Wesley and why?